Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Minor hockey teams from across Ontario and a handful of Quebec entries will make the trip to Napanee and Deseronto this weekend to take part in Napanee District Minor Hockey’s annual Andy McGarvey Memorial Tournament.
A total of 52 teams will compete in 12 divisions-Novice RS, Novice BB, Atom RS, Atom AE, Atom BB, Peewee RS, Peewee AE, Peewee BB, Bantam RS, Bantam BB, Midget RS and Midget BB. Games will begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday and run through Sunday afternoon.
Matches will be played at both the Strathcona Paper Centre and the Deseronto Community Rec Centre.
As with previous years, wherever possible, the divisions are organized in a way that will see teams from the eastern part of Ontario square off against the west.
“There’s a lot of teams from the Ottawa Valley, quite a few from Toronto and a lot of local ones, team from Prince Edward County, Stirling and Belleville,” said Shawn Scrimshaw, who returns for a second year as NDMHA’s tournament director. “It’s a good mix of different teams.”
Nestled between major cities and a still a short drive from both Toronto and Montreal, Napanee’s location makes it an intriguing draw for several minor hockey clubs.
Local fans will have plenty to cheer for as Napanee will have representation in nine of the 12 leagues, including all the BB divisions.
“A lot of our teams this year are really strong as well in their division,” said Scrimshaw. “It’ll add that little spice of competitiveness and hopefully they’ll finish in the top two and make it into the final round on Sunday.”
Not only will the tournament be a great opportunity for Stars teams to get a look at some different competition than what they’re used to in league play, it’s good timing as they gear up to take part in some big tournaments in the coming weeks.
“It’s a good primer right before the Silver Stick,” said Scrimshaw, noting that eastern teams will be headed to Cobourg and Port Huron shortly after the tournament for their respective Silver Stick competitions.
This will mark the fourth year the since the tournament has been re-branded as the Andy McGarvey Memorial Tournament, named for a well-respected coach and member of the Napanee sporting community. McGarvey, who passed away in 2014, was also recently inducted into the Greater Napanee Sports Wall of Fame.
The tournament is also expected to create a nice economic spin-off for the community with plenty of out-of-towners expected to make the trip to support their respective teams. Between games fans will have the opportunity to check of Napanee’s Big Bright Light Show, which will be lit starting on Friday.